Seeing Dick
I’m lucky to be Dick’s tenant. It was April 2014 when my friend (and later roommate) in the United States brought me Dick. Actually, I’m here to help my roommate, make a good impression. He was a very easygoing, warm old man. I remember I asked him a question – which American president do you like best? He said I like lucky presidents best.
The tenant is living
My rent is very cheap, only 100 USD, which is about 650 RMB, ha ha, surprise. Although I live in a basement, half underground bar, with Windows, sunshine, a kitchen, a separate bathroom. Out of my back door is a big river – Still Water. I often go boating on Dick’s kayak. He loved the river. His ashes were scattered here. He used to joke about flushing them down the toilet. But there is no tombstone, it is a pity, I really like in front of his tombstone, chat, report my work and life back home.
Of course, the cheap rent wasn’t for nothing and I had to do housework for Dick. He was 95 years old. My tasks are not complicated, like running errands, chopping wood in the summer, yeah, chopping wood. Our house is really burning wood, because burning wood is cheap, if compared to natural gas and electricity. At first I resisted burning wood, but then I found it really fun, listening to the crackling noise of burning wood. He told me about an American magazine devoted to wood burning. There’s a sentence at the beginning — why do we study wood burning, because it’s really interesting.
There is a feeling of happiness. Of course, there is snow clearing, this is really annoying
Summer in Maine, Dick’s backyard, the place where we used to live in harmony, the place where I learned about life.
A highly respected professor
Dick graduated from Syracuse University and was a professor at the University of Maine when he was in his 20s. He has worked at the University of Maine for nearly 40 years and served as the dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering for nearly 40 years, mainly focusing on energy conservation. He is a big fan of nuclear power, having defended a nuclear plant in his state on television and successfully kept it open. The nuclear plant donated one million dollars to the school in his name. After he retired, he still had a radio program to save energy and reduce energy use. He even had an audience, with whom he regularly wrote letters.
For example, each room has its own electricity meter, natural gas meter, and even the dryer has a special electricity meter. One of my tasks is to read the meter and report to him, and then summarize the data of this week together.
For me
When I first came to America, I was very lonely. It wasn’t until I moved into his house that I found some sense of belonging. Listen to him tell his story, share his life experience, practice my oral English. Living in his family for two years, I really understand what rural Life in America is. While I was chopping wood, he was Shouting – Country boy. Really left me speechless…
The low rent really helped me save a lot. During my study, I had ten or twenty thousand dollars. More importantly, after I broke my tooth, he took me to the doctor, helped me pay a thousand dollars in medical bills, and finally said I didn’t have to pay them back. I gave it back to him quickly, but I’ll never forget it.